PAWSITIVE CHANGES Kitty
T
his is clearly fate telling us that you’re supposed to move to the city and we’re destined to live together.” Miles kisses me on the temple, then trails several more along my cheek until he reaches my lips.
“Let me get the interview under my belt before you go dusting off your crystal ball.” Any other thoughts I would like to put into words get lost in my head when he covers my mouth with his and kisses me breathless.
Half an hour and two orgasms later, Miles and I are sitting on the couch in his living room. Wilfred and Prince Francis are close by, snuggling in Wilfred’s bed. Which is also now Prince Francis’s bed. Those two are practically inseparable these days. And on the nights where we’re not here at Miles’s, Prince Francis is mopey, as though he misses his best four-legged friend.
“I can put a pin in making officially official plans for you and Prince Francis to move in with me and Wilfred until you’ve
gone for the interview, but this job sounds perfect for you.” Miles adjusts my legs so they lie across his lap.
“It really does.” I called Miles last night to tell him the news, after which he went on a Google mission to find out everything he could about the company. Then he created a pros and cons spreadsheet about taking the job over continuing to grow the Kitty Whisperer. And he also created a third column, with the potential to continue to do both without burning myself out.
“If you want to do both, you can, and there’s real potential for the Kitty Whisperer to continue expanding, if that’s your goal. I bet they’d even be willing to partner with you if you brought that to the table. You’re an invaluable resource, Kitty, and they clearly see that. Your face on their pilot project will go a long way to making it successful. Ask for what you want tomorrow, and tell them you don’t want to give up what you’ve built. And if you like what they’re offering you, then ask them to help you find a way to make it work.”
“It’s hard to believe a few days ago I was plugging along, doing my day to day, and now here I am, interviewing for a new job, potentially moving to the city. It’s like my whole world has been turned upside down in the best way possible.” After the initial panic, in which I questioned whether I could honestly and truly handle all the changes life was throwing at me, I called my sister.
She echoed what my mother said. And then she told me to go upstairs and stand in her bedroom and tell her what I saw. Nothing had changed in the days since she moved, but everything had changed. The things that had made it her room had gone with
her to the apartment in the city. Sure, it was still a bedroom, but the life that had occupied it was missing. The little things that would trigger memories had disappeared.
Change happened regardless of whether we called on it. I could choose to embrace it or fight it, but it was coming for me, no matter what. So I embraced it. All of it. From the interview to moving in with Miles. And I started by bringing over a few outfits to keep in his closet.
The next morning Wilfred wakes us up with his stinky dog-breath alarm.
“Stay right where you are. I’ll take care of these two, and then I’ll take care of you.” Miles rolls out of bed, and Prince Francis and Wilfred follow him to the bathroom. They sit in front of the door, tails wagging in unison while they wait for him to do his business and then continue to the kitchen to feed them.
I grab a fruity Mentos from the roll in the nightstand drawer and lose my nightshirt. We finally figured out what Miles is allergic to. Apparently, as a kid he used to have a strange reaction to anything minty. His tongue would get itchy and his mouth would peel, so he’s avoided all minty things since. A few weeks ago, I kissed him after I had a mint hot chocolate, and his lips puffed up slightly, but an antihistamine later, they were back to their normal full kissableness.
The following week, I picked up a toy for Prince Francis that
contained catnip. And Miles had a full-blown allergic reaction that required me to inject him with his EpiPen, a trip to the ER, and a formal mint allergy diagnosis. Catnip is part of the mint family. No more getting high for Prince Francis, and no more mint-mocha beverages for me.
A minute later, Miles returns and closes the door behind him, so we have some privacy. We’ve learned the hard way that leaving the door open, even a crack, is not a good idea when we’re planning to have naked fun.
Prince Francis yowls when I moan too loudly, and Wilfred joins in with forlorn howling. Feeding them tends to keep them busy long enough that we can get in some private time without an unwanted chorus.
Miles joins me under the sheets, our legs tangling. “I can’t wait to wake up to your beautiful face every single morning.” He slants his mouth over mine, and we both sink into the kiss. We make slow, lazy love, enjoying the closeness and the comfort we find in each other before we leave the haven of his bed.
My interview isn’t until ten this morning, and Miles doesn’t have to be at the rink until eleven, so we take our time making breakfast, and we talk about the interview and the questions I should ask.
Miles walks me down to the parking garage at nine-thirty and gives me a long, lingering kiss. “I’d wish you luck, but you don’t need it, since this is basically them trying to woo you.”
“Cross your fingers for me that it goes well anyway.”
I hop into my Cat-mobile and drive to A Place for Paws. It’s
only twenty minutes from Miles’s apartment, which is another checkmark in the pro column.
I’m greeted by a young woman dressed in scrubs with a cat face pattern on them. “Kitty Hart! You’re here.” She extends a hand; her eyes are wide and she looks as nervous as I feel.
“Hi. And yes, I am.”
She shakes her head and has a full-body reaction that reminds me of someone being shocked. By a live electrical wire. “I’m so sorry. My name is Annie. I’m one of the resident cat lovers. My job is to love the new kitties they bring in for us to rehabilitate. Mary Jane is just speaking with the vet, but she’ll be out in a minute. Can I show you around while you’re waiting?”
“Sure. That sounds great.”
“Awesome. Fantastic.” She claps her hands and grins. “I’m still kind of in shock that you’re standing here. I’m a huge fan.” She cringes. “I promised myself I’d keep my cool, but I’m failing so hard right now.”
“I’m just a cat lover who happens to have gone viral with a video.” I wink.
Her eyes go wide again. “I can’t believe that happened. And I saw the whole video that Brit Sheers posted. And you were right about the geese. It is like we’ve channeled all our meanness into that one animal.”
“I know! They’re ridiculously surly creatures, aren’t they?”
“They really are.” Annie nods her agreement and leads me down the hall.
She opens a door to a large room. It’s a cat’s playground
paradise. There are cat trees spread throughout the room at various intervals, and stairs fixed to the walls leading to perches for cats to hang out on. Several kitties keep watch from the highest points in the room, guarding their territory. Other cats lounge in beds or zoom around the space, playing with toys or each other.
“This is incredible.” It’s exactly the kind of space I wanted to set up for the Kitty Whisperer in the future when I had my own house and could dedicate a space to my furry charges. Or when I had the capital to rent a space.
“It’s my favorite room. This is where our healthy cats who enjoy the companionship of both humans and furry friends hang out during the day. We have a smaller room for the more skittish ones, and the ones who need social training,” Annie tells me.
“This is perfect. Where do they sleep at night?”
“Come, I’ll show you.” Annie guides me down the hall to another room. This one has individual cages, but they’re not like little cells. Instead, they’re decorated with toys, and each one has a cat bed and a cat stuffie. “This is where we keep the kitties who sleep best on their own, but we have another room for communal sleeping.”
She takes me next door, where there are a few cats curled up together, enjoying naptime. A tabby puts his paw over his eyes and rolls away from us, obviously not interested in being disturbed.
“Do you foster feral families sometimes?”
“We do. We have special rooms for them as well.”
A woman peeks her head in. “I thought I might find you in here. I hope you’re enjoying your tour.”
“It’s great. Annie is a fantastic guide.”
The woman, who I recognize as the CEO of A Place for Paws, holds out a hand. “I’m Mary Jane. We spoke over email. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to meet with us.”
“It’s honestly a pleasure. This place is fabulous.”
She doesn’t take me to a boardroom; instead we grab coffees (with takeout cup lids to avoid drinking cat fur) and sit in the kitty playground, where she tells me all about the pilot project.
We both end up with cats in our laps as she talks about how her vision is to take what I’ve built with the Kitty Whisperer and make it a full-service program, with a vet on staff and feline care support available for the adoptive families.
“We don’t want to take you away from what you’ve already built, Kitty,” Mary Jane explains. “We’re hoping, if you’re interested, that we could merge your business model with ours. That way you can keep doing what you love, while helping us start up this new program.”
“This all sounds amazing. I’ll need a few weeks to get things organized with my staff, though.”
“You can take all the time you need. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but does this mean you’re coming on board?”
I don’t even have to think about it. I already know the answer. “I would love to be part of your team.”
Over the next few weeks, I find myself busier than I’ve ever been. I approach Fancy, my vet tech student, about taking a more
managerial role in the Kitty Whisperer, which she’s more than happy to do. We agree that over the next two months my time will slowly shift from three days a week with the Kitty Whisperer down to two, and eventually down to one, where I’m just signing off on paperwork—we hire someone to take care of most of that—and reviewing client files. But I keep one day a week for visits, because my love of cats is the reason I started the Kitty Whisperer.
And as I transition, that’s what I find myself doing. I not only spend time with my feline friends, but I also help find them new homes, and I work with people who love animals with the same soft heart I do.
While I’m making big life changes, so is my mom. She ends up buying a smaller, two-bedroom house in the same development as Marie and sells the house I grew up in. Hattie and I help her pack. There’s catharsis in sorting through our history. And while we might shed some tears, there’s also laughter and love, and the knowledge that our memories stay with us. Home doesn’t have to be defined by a place, it’s where we find our strongest emotional bonds. It’s a shelter created from love.
epilogue HOLD THE A-CLAWS Miles
One Year Later
I
wake up to the feel of a sandpaper tongue on my cheek. I crack a lid and find two blue eyes staring back at me. “You look like an angry gargoyle.” I roll over, but I’m greeted with dog breath. “Why don’t they harass you in the morning?” I grumble.
“Because you’re the one who gives in whenever they beg for food.” Kitty’s front presses against my back, and her arm comes around my waist.
I roll her way and press my lips to her temple.
Prince Francis takes the opportunity for what it is and plunks his butt down on my chest, continuing with his angry gargoyle impression. Kitty giggles and rubs under his chin. He flops over on his side and lands in the crack between our bodies. He struggles to right himself for a moment, then relocates to the pillows and wraps his body around Kitty’s head.
Wilfred sets his chin on the edge of the mattress and gives me his sad eyes while whimpering.
“I feel like we’re going to end up with really spoiled kids if these two are anything to go on.” My eyes flare, and I look down at Kitty. “I mean one day, eventually, in the future. Probably the distant future. After we get married.” I purse my lips and bite them to keep me from digging a bigger hole.
While a lot of things have changed in the past year, my ability to stick my foot in my mouth has not.
“Are you saying you want to marry me?” Kitty’s smile is full of amusement.
“I’m kind of attached to you.”
That beautiful smile of hers widens. “I’m kind of attached to you, too.”
She tips her chin up and I tip mine down so our lips can connect.
“I love you more than Wilfred loves cookie treats.” I slide my arm under her and pull her closer.
“And I love you more than Prince Francis loves licking his balls in front of company,” Kitty replies.
We both snort-giggle, then go back to making out.
Wilfred paws at my arm and whimpers, while Prince Francis starts grooming our foreheads, forcing us to break apart.
“Maybe we should hit pause and feed them before this goes any further,” I suggest.
Kitty sighs. “Probably a good idea. I’ll feed Prince Francis, and you feed Wilfred?”
Two minutes later we’re back in bed, the door to our room closed as we make morning love. It’s my favorite way to start my day.
Forty-five minutes later we’re sated, showered, and dressed. Kitty and I stand side by side in the kitchen, working around each other as I fry bacon and she toasts English muffins for our egg sandwiches.
Despite having just eaten their own breakfasts, Wilfred and Prince Francis are also seated side by side on the kitchen floor, their tails swinging in tandem, hopeful that we’ll drop something delicious. We sit at the kitchen table and talk about our plans for the day.
“I’m heading to Terra Cotta this morning, and I’m taking Prince Francis and Wilfred by to see your mom while I’m there.”
The pilot project with A Place for Paws has gone over incredibly well. It’s been backed by several celebrities, including Brit Sheers, and they’re developing a training program so other shelters can create something similar. And the Kitty Whisperer has grown exponentially, thanks to the support and help of A Place for Paws. We have a storefront now, with an office and staff, still based in Terra Cotta, where everything started. Kat’s Cat Café has become part of the project, too, and cats who are good with people often end up there on their way to finding their forever home. It’s been amazing to watch Kitty grow as a person and a businesswoman. She’s an inspiration, and I’m lucky to have her sunshine in my life.
“That’ll be great. She’ll love that.” The home has been great
about allowing pet visits, and my mom is thriving in the social setting. “Will you stop and see your mom, too?”
“She’s squeezing me in for a lunch date between all the other things she has going on.”
“Sounds like someone else I know,” I say teasingly.
Since her move, Lucile’s social life has blossomed, and she’s mentioned a “gentleman friend” that she’s been out with a lot recently.
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, apparently,” Kitty says with a sly grin.
We finish breakfast, clean up our dishes, and get ready to leave for work. Kitty and I dress Prince Francis and Wilfred in matching sweaters, since today is supposed to be on the chilly side.
“Don’t forget that we have dinner plans tonight,” I remind her after we load our fur-children into the back of her Cat-mobile.
“It’s on my calendar. I’ll be home before five so I can de-fur myself and make this pretty.” She motions to her face.
“You’re always pretty.”
“And you’re always handsome.”
I drop a kiss on her lips and open the driver’s side door for her. I allow her to pull out of her spot before I hop into my car.
I head to work in a great mood, but I’m distracted during practice, because my head is elsewhere. Thankfully, Josh is on the ball, and he picks up my slack. Parker has truly blossomed over the past two seasons. He’s one of the top players in the league,
with an impressive scoring record. The team renewed my contract for five years and I’ve been given a substantial raise. I feel like I’ve found my calling, and there’s real satisfaction in knowing that I’m part of the reason why our team has been steadily improving since they brought me on board.
“Tonight’s the night?” Josh asks as we leave the arena and head for our cars.
“Tonight’s the night.”
“You need any help setting things up?” He spins his keys around on his finger.
“Nope. But if all goes well, I’m going to need your help a lot over the coming months.”
“I’m ready for it.” He claps me on the shoulder. “Kitty’s sister will probably be heavily involved, too, won’t she?”
I give him the side-eye. “There’s a very good chance of that, yeah.”
He managed to get her number after he helped move her into her apartment, but I warned him not to get involved with her if she was just going to end up as a notch on his bedpost. I’m guessing he took the advice and backed off, because as far as I know, he never did call.
I’m grateful that my day ends early. It means I can pick up all the things I need for tonight, including a premade dinner from Kitty’s favorite restaurant. That way all I have to do is heat it up and not make a mess of the kitchen. I arrive home at four in the afternoon. I preheat the oven and jump in the shower, then put on fresh dress pants and a button-down.
The moment Kitty walks in the door, she makes a beeline for the bathroom, telling me she needs to have a quick shower.
I call after her to take her time. I feed Prince Francis and Wilfred, because they’ll follow me around and Prince Francis will yell at me until I give him food, which is distracting, and I don’t need to be tripping over them when I’m rushing around.
I quickly set the table, light a couple of candles, and put dinner in the oven to warm. By this time, Prince Francis and Wilfred have finished scarfing down their dinners, so I dress them up in their new outfits. I pull the bottle of champagne from the fridge and set it on the table. I don’t want to pop the cork preemptively. Just in case.
“Okay! I’m all set! I don’t think I asked where we’re going tonight. Oh!” Kitty comes to an abrupt halt when she sees the setup. “What’s all this?” She bites her lip, gaze flitting from me to the table to Wilfred and Prince Francis. Wilfred is being his usual well-behaved self, sitting beside me, tail wagging happily. Prince Francis has one leg extended and is licking his toes.
“I thought we could have a romantic night in.” I clasp my hands in front of me, then behind my back, suddenly nervous.
Kitty crosses the room and comes to a stop in front of me. She smooths her hands over my chest and links them behind my neck. “I love it. What’s the occasion?”
I lift a shoulder and let it fall. “Not really an occasion, per se. I mean, I’d like it to become an occasion. But it isn’t one yet.”
Her brows pull together in a slight furrow. Probably because what I’ve just said is confusing.
“I love you,” I blurt.
“I love you, too.”
“And I want to love you for the rest of my life.”
She smiles up at me. “That’s good, because I want to do the same thing.”
“Good. Okay. That’s great. This sort of seems like the perfect segue.”
I get another confused look. “Perfect segue for what?”
I unlink her hands from around my neck and jam my hand into my pocket. At the same time, I drop to one knee in front of her. Unfortunately, Prince Francis’s tail swishes in my direction as I kneel, and his tail ends up under my knee.
He yowls loudly, hisses, and swats at me, managing to get the back of my hand. The one holding the small velvet box. Which I drop on the floor. It pops open and Wilfred lunges for it, probably thinking it’s a toy.
“No, Wilfred!” I do the only thing I can, which is shoulder him out of the way and cover the box with my body. Wilfred clearly thinks this is a game, because he jumps on top of me and starts trying to nose his way under me, his dog breath and his tongue all over my face.
“Oh my gosh! Wilfred, off!” Kitty pulls him back. “Sit!” she orders. “That’s a good boy.” I roll over and sit up and covertly check the small box to make sure the contents are still inside. Thankfully it is.
“Are you okay? Your hand is bleeding.”
“It’s fine. I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.” I glance around the room for Prince Francis. He’s now sitting on the arm of the couch, licking his tail, giving me his angry gargoyle face.
“I should check it out, and we should disinfect it.” Kitty’s expression reflects her concern.
“In a minute. You can let go of Wilfred.” I grab one of his toys from the floor and toss it across the room, then resume my kneeling position and flip open the box.
Kitty’s breath leaves her on a whoosh. “Oh.”
“Kitty, you came into my life exactly when I needed you the most.”
Prince Francis meows loudly from the arm of the couch as Wilfred rushes by and drops his toy at my feet.
“Let me amend that. You and Prince Francis came into my and Wilfred’s life at exactly the right time.”
Wilfred sets his chin on my outstretched arm. Kitty bends to pick up the toy and throws it again. “And you came into our lives at exactly the right time.”
“I love you, and every moment of every day, that love grows. I want to spend the rest of my life waking up next to you and falling asleep beside you. I want to raise fur babies and real babies with you. I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”
“You are the most amazing man, Miles Thorn. And I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I want all the same things, and I would absolutely love to be your wife.”
I lift the ring from its velvet cushion and manage to get it on
her finger before Wilfred comes back again with his toy. I try to nudge him out of the way, but he licks my face, completely oblivious to the moment he’s ruining.
“Dude, read the room.” I push up to a stand, which means Wilfred tries to stuff his nose in my crotch.
Kitty laughs, and I do too. And then I take her face in my hands, ignoring the scratches on the back of it, and press my lips to hers. “You’re a sunrise in human form,” I tell her. “And I’m lucky I get to see you shine every single day.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As always, thank you to my husband and daughter, who inspire me endlessly and are my biggest and most amazing supporters.
Debra, you’re the pepper to my salt and the Kat to my Kitty.
Kimberly, thank you so much for helping me mold and refine every tale I tell. You’re amazing, and I appreciate all you do.
Sarah Pie, I’m forever grateful for your friendship. Thank you for being such a steadfast and amazing source of support all these years. Hustlers, you’re fabulous, and I adore you.
Leah and my team at Forever, thank you making this book such a joy to write and refine. I’m so glad Kitty and Miles have a home with you.
My Beavers, thank you for your love of love stories and for sharing my excitement for every release! You’re my favorite place to be when I’m not hanging out in my imagination with my characters.
To my book world friends Deb, Tijan, Trisha, Catherine, thank you for being such awesome people. I’m lucky to have you in my life.
Krystin and Marnie, thank you for always celebrating the
wins with me. You’re incredible friends, and it’s an honor to know you.
To my readers, bloggers, bookstagrammers, and booktokkers, thank you for loving love stories and for sharing that love. It’s an honor to be part of this special community.
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